Wage Data Reporting Requirements

In January 2017, New York Governor Cuomo issued Executive Order 162 requiring employers who have prime contracts with the State in excess of $25,000 to report data quarterly on the gender, race, ethnicity, job title, and salary for all those employees working on the contract (or all employees if it cannot be determined which employees work on the contract and which do not). The Governor's motivation for the Executive Order was to address what he perceived to be illegal, gender-based wage differentials. The Executive Order takes affect with State contracts executed on or after June 1, 2017, and the quarterly due date obligation becomes monthly for employers with prime construction contracts in excess of $100,000. Subcontractors of all employers covered by the Executive Order also must comply with the same disclosure requirements. The information will be submitted to the New York State Department of Economic Development, and all other State agencies will also have access to the information.

Last fall, federal reporting requirements were also increased by the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC). The new EEO-1 Form mandated for use in 2017 (due March 1, 2018) applies to employers with 100 or more employees. The affected employers must report summary pay data by job category, sex and race/ethnicity each year. Smaller employers (50-99) need only report demographic data as before. The EEOC will receive the pay data of most employers, while the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs will receive the data from federal contractors and subcontractors covered by Executive Order 11246.